168 Understanding the Numbers
continuing education, publications, and IRS forms. The home page for the
Financial Management Association, located at http://www.fma.org, is another inter-
esting site for financial executives. This site provides information on all of the
association’s services with links to other pages.
Computer hardware and software companies use the Web as a device for
distributing software to users. As software device drivers change, users can
download the new software over the Net. The Net also provides a venue for
people with common interests to “chat” electronically in “chat rooms.”
Internet Search Engines
The Web has become so extensive with so much information available to the
user that often one literally does not know where to look. Consequently, search
engines were created to help users navigate the Web. Search engines like
Yahoo, Alta Vista, Lycos, Google, and Northernlight constantly explore the
Web, indexing each site. When presented with key words or a topic to be
searched, they provide the user with a list and description of each site that
contains the information requested in the search. The search results also dis-
play the hypertext links to the sites found, enabling the user to click on and im-
mediately go to those sites that seem most promising.
Electronic Commerce
Electronic commerce, the ability to purchase goods and services over the Net,
has grown geometrically in recent years. Before e-commerce can achieve its
full potential, however, there are a number of hurdles that must be overcome
successfully. First, as will be discussed in more detail in the following section,
there are strong concerns over the security of credit card and other confiden-
tial data concerning sales transactions. Until consumers can be assured that
their personal data are confidential and their financial transactions are secure,
e-commerce will be under a cloud of suspicion. Second, shopping in cyber-
space is different from shopping in physical space. When shopping in physical
space, consumers see, touch, try on, test-drive, and buy physical products. In
cyberspace, consumers shop on the Net by referring only to metaphors, two-
dimensional representations of what they see when shopping in stores. Essen-
tially, cyberspace consumers are supplied only secondhand information about
products.
For electronic commerce to be successful, therefore, the mode and the
metaphor for the cyberspace shopping experience must be improved. New
mechanisms for Internet shopping will be developed, many of which will in-
clude experiments in virtual reality and the appearance of three-dimensional
venues. Also, the shopping experience will be custom-tailored to you, the indi-
vidual consumer. Many Internet sites already keep a profile on you when you
visit their site. These profiles include information on what products you buy
and what products you tend to look at, allowing the Internet sites to create
shopping experiences specific to your needs. Along these lines, the mail-order